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Yoga can make you more flexible but what does it have to do with politics? Sarah and Meg, our yogi/bloggers-on-the-ground at this year’s Republican and Democratic conventions are here to tell us how yoga played a role in each of these gatherings.

yoga at the rnc

Sarah from our Hyde Park Village store in Tampa, attended this year’s Republican National Convention.

planting seeds

Excitement, stress, even a little fear buzzed around Tampa, Florida as the RNC began to take form. The atmosphere was tense, the traffic was horrendous and it was obvious that the last thing on everyone’s minds was a little something we like to call “work-life balance.” Enter: the HuffPost Oasis.

From the moment I read about her in an old Yoga Journal article, Seane Corn has been my girl. She’s got a big ol’ head of hair (I could stare at that hair for days) and a big ol’ brain full of wisdom. The day before the convention started, I took her “Three Realms of Consciousness” workshop. Here I was able to hear first hand how her vision for bringing yoga to a political convention came to life. She stated that our future leaders of the country are certainly ones who need peace, mindfulness, clarity- well, basically all that yoga embodies. Republicans were about to be shown what was up.

How did Off the Mat and Into the World (Seane Corn’s organization), along with the Huffington Post, bring all of this goodness to a group of unsuspecting politicians? Healthy meals that were easy to prepare. Back and hand massages. Organic make-up touch-ups. Yoga classes all day long. Meditation and breathing exercise. And juices – did I mention how much juice was at this thing? Smoothies, coconut waters and a rainbow of juices as far as the eye could see. The space was large, air conditioned and lined with candles. It smelled like peach bellinis and looked like a 5-star spa in Switzerland. Guests could sit in squishy, delicious chairs and — oh yeah, nap in a sleep machine. It was like a place out of a dream. I almost ran for office just so that I could live at Oasis.

No matter what political view we stand behind, I think we can agree that the yogic lifestyle is our guide into what is rational, peaceful and healing. Someone is going to run our country and I am thankful that the Oasis was at the convention to plant the seeds of mindfulness.

yoga at the dnc

feel the expansion

I can’t remember the posture I relaxed myself into when I heard Southpark Store Ambassador, Adam Whiting say it. “Now,” he said, “feel the expansion.” It was a complimentary yoga practice at Midtown Park in Charlotte, North Carolina with an almost reachable view of Charlotte’s skyline. This calm served as the quiet before the politics, passion, press and entertainment invaded our town. This was the first day of the Democratic National Convention in a city relatively new to intense, international attention. Now, feel the expansion.

This DNC brought nothing short of a challenging pace and fresh experiences for me. I watched famous journalists do what they do best. I needed “credentials”. The Secret Service told me where to park. I reconnected with a friend from college with challenging, academic theory of religion and politics – over simple, classic glass bottles of local soda. I stood in front of a sand sculpture of President Barack Obama. I practiced with yogis from all over the country. I listened to Chef Marcus Samuelsson talk about food choices. I volunteered with Off the Mat and Into the World at the Huffington Post Oasis. I ran after a Washington Post reporter leaving our store to tell him I liked his post yesterday. I heard things I agreed with. I heard things I disagreed with. I picked up swag. I got to see a panel of famous, female entrepreneurs speak about collaboration, innovation and the importance of female talent. And I’m not exactly sure where else The Foo Fighters , Flo Rida, John Legend and James Taylor would all perform within the same radius within days of each other.

Myself and another Southpark store educator, Mary Catherine, met Ariana Huffington. She graciously signed her book “Fearless” and inscribed nothing short of a game changer – “To Meg, Fear nothing… Ariana”. Fear nothing…now, feel the expansion.

learn more

Check out YogaVotes, a national, nonpartisan campaign to get yogis out to vote in 2012.